Jemmape (department)
Jemmape is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium. It was named after the Battle of Jemappes, fought between the French and the Austrians in 1792 near the village Jemappes, near Mons. Jemappes was spelled Jemmape, Jemmapes or Jemmappes at the time. Its territory corresponds more or less with that of the Belgian province Hainaut. Its capital was Mons.
The département came into existence in 1795, when the Southern Netherlands were occupied by the French. The département de Jemmape was formed from most of the County of Hainaut, Tournai and the Tournaisis, a part of the county of Namur (Charleroi) and of the Bishopric of Liège (Thuin). See the 130 départements of the Napoleonic Empire.
The département was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1812):[1]
- Mons, cantons: Boussu, Chièvres, Dour, Enghien, Lens, Le Roeulx, Mons (2 cantons), Pâturages and Soignies.
- Charleroi, cantons: Beaumont, Binche, Charleroi (2 cantons), Chimay, Fontaine-l'Évêque, Gosselies, Merbes-le-Château, Seneffe and Thuin.
- Tournai, cantons: Antoing, Ath, Celles, Ellezelles, Frasnes, Lessines, Leuze, Péruwelz, Quevaucamps, Templeuve and Tournai (2 cantons).
Its population in 1812 was 472,366, and its area was 376,658 hectares.[1]
After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the département became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the province of Hainaut. Its territory corresponds more or less with the present Belgian province Hainaut.
References
- 1 2 Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII, p. 415-416, accessed in Gallica 25 July 2013 (French)
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Coordinates: 50°27′N 3°53′E / 50.450°N 3.883°E